COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

HEALTH  SCIENCES  STANDARD     _ 


HX64096610 
R154.M23  B52        A  biographic  memoria 


RECAP 


b1 


p 


Columbia  SBnitieri^itp 

CoUege  of  ^fjpgicianjs  anb  ^urgeong 
iLiijrarp 


1:-^ 


,^ 


A 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/biographicmemorOObroo 


FRONTISPIECE. 


^  sLo^^^XW>^^v^r^ 


A  Biographic  Memorial 


OF 


GEORGE  McNAUGHTON,  M.D. 


ALBERT  T.   HUNTINGTON 
1914 


i^L  1"^^' ;' 


Published  December  21,  1^14 
Of  this  book  two  hundred 
copies  have  been  pointed,  of 
which  this  is  No-k:../ 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 
Pkeface, '? 

A  Brief  Sketch  of  His  Life 9 

His  Birth,  Boyhood,  and  Early  Life,  10.  As  a 
Medical  Student,  13.  His  First  "Charge,"  13. 
His  Eemoval  to'  Brooklyn  and  Places  of  Eesi- 
dence  There,  14.  His  First  Appointments,  15. 
His  Hospital  Work,  16.  His  Early  Work  in  In- 
tubation, 17.  His  Medical  Society  Affiliations, 
18.  His  Aid  to  Young  Men,  20.  Some  Prin- 
ciples of  Practice,  21.  His  Views  on  the  Retiring 
Age,  24.  His  Mechanical  Talent,  26.  His  Out- 
ings, 29.  His  Death,  31.  His  Life  Work,  32. 
By  William  Browning,  M.D. 

The  McNaughtozst  Oenealogy 35 

By  James  MacFarlane  Win-field,  M.D. 

His  Work  at  the  County  Medical  Society 39 

By  James  MacFarlane  Winfield,  M.D. 

Reminiscences  of  Oeorge  McNaughton 47 

By  Calvin  Fremyre  Barber,  M.D. 

A  Personal  Appreciation 53 

By  Albert  Martin  Judd,  M.D. 

His  Use  of  Sea  Water  in  Internal  Therapy 57 

By  Frederick  Loud  Cranford,  Esq. 


PAGE 

His  Work  in  Intubation,  and  Abscess  of  the 
Throat    63 

By  William  Coughlin  Braislin,  M.D. 

His  Treatment  of  Sterility 67 

By  Donald  Stewart  MacNaughton,  M.D. 

PiEMARKS     ON     THE     DeATH     OF      GeORGE     MC- 

Naughton  71 

By  Robert  Latou  Dickinson,  M.D. 

Dr.   George  McN'aughton 73 

By  William  Scliroeder,  Sr.,  M.D. 

Bibliography  of  George  McNaughton 75 


ILLUSTEATIONS. 


PAGE 

Plate  1.     George  McjSTaughton,  M.D Frontispiece 

Last  portrait,  with  autograph. 

Plate  2.    Birthplace  of  Dr.  George  McNaughton 

Facing  page       9 
Mumford,  Monroe  Coimty,  N.  Y. 

Plate  3.     Dr.   George  McNaughton.  .Facing  page     16 
About  the  tiuie  of  his  graduation  in  medicine. 

Plate  4.     Instruments,  Etc.,  Devised  by  Dr.  Mc- 
Naughton   Facing  page     28 

Fig.  1.  The  Invalid  Coach.  Fig.  2.  Operating 
frame  (Trendelenburg  Position).  Fig  3.  Mc- 
N'aughton  Tissue  Forceps. 

Plate  5.     Dr.    Mc]SrATjGHTON''s    Last    Residence. 

Facing  page     32 
479  Clinton  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Plate  6.     Ruins  of  McNaughton  Castle. 

Facing  page     36 
Praoch  Elan,  Argyleshire,  Scotland. 

Plate  7.     Old  Building  of  the  Medical  Society 

OF  THE  County  of  Kings Facing  page    40 

356  Bridge  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Plate  8.     New  Building  of  the  Medical  Society 

of  the  County  of  Kings Facing  page     44 

1313  Bedford  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 

|HIS  brief  composite  biography  is 
intended  to  fulfill  a  triple  pur- 
pose— to  serve  as  a  slight  recogni- 
tion of  the  man  and  his  public 
service;  to  uphold  the  objects  and  interests 
for  which  he  strove ;  and  to  act  as  a  memento 
for  his  friends,  a  convenient  reference  and 
something  tangible  to  preserve. 

Both  on  account  of  the  somewhat  distinctive 
personality  of  the  man  and  because  of  the  lack 
of  interest  in  or  worth  of  average  biographic 
sketches,  it  seemed  quite  in  order  to  adopt  a 
different  and  perhaps  more  modern  and  use- 
ful plan  of  presentation.  It  may  even  help 
towards  the  development  of  a  more  personal 
and  serviceable  type  of  memoir  than  is  cus- 
tomary. 

The  continental  memoir,  like  those  dealing 
with  our  men  of  letters,  embodies  the  collect- 
ing and  editing  of  the  author's  writings 
together  with  a  more  or  less  casual  personal 
sketch.  In  the  case  of  literati  this  biographic 
method  may  be   suitable,   but  there  is  not 


the  same  warrant  for  its  use  in  the  case  of 
medical  and  scientific  men,  even  though  the 
commemorated 's  output  bears  exclusively 
on  research — scientific  knowledge  may  have 
progressed,  the  originals  are  accessible  and 
more  authoritative,  and  literary  style  is  of 
minor  importance.  Occasionally,  of  course, 
novelty,  completeness,  rarity  of  the  original 
print,  or  some  such  cogent  reason  makes  the 
reproduction  of  a  single  article  advisable.  As 
a  practical  people  we  should  be  able  to  create, 
in  our  biographic  memoirs,  something  both 
more  concise  and  of  greater  utility. 

In  this  memoir  of  Dr.  McNaughton  it  is 
natural  that  medical  matters  should  take  a 
leading  place,  even  to  some  of  a  quasi-tech- 
nical character.  The  modern  tendency  for  a 
diffusion  of  medical  knowledge  in  lay  circles 
makes  this  the  more  permissible.  And  as  his 
work  was  primarily  for  his  home  region,  local 
detail  must  predominate.  An  occasional 
duplication  of  thought  by  the  various  con- 
tributors may  serve  to  make  the  story  the 
more  connected. 

W.  B. 


Plate  2. 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  DR.  GEORGE  McNAUGHTON 

Mumford,  Monroe  County,  N.  Y. 


A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE.* 

HILE  a  narration  of  the  bare  facts 
of  an  active  life  may  have  interest, 
this  is  greatly  enhanced  by  some 
recognition  of  their  bearing  on  the 
events  and  activities  of  the  period. 

To  the  present  and  passing  generation  of 
physicians  of  Brooklyn  the  name  of  George 
McNaughton  has  stood  for  much,  in  sturdy 
and  large  personality,  in  consulting  and  pri- 
vate practice,  in  hospital  work  and  organiza- 
tion, in  liberal  and  co-operative  spirit,  and 
especially  in  the  advancement  of  the  interests 
of  the  medical  profession. 

It  is  perhaps  too  early  for  a  final  estimate 
of  his  accomplishments,  but  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  he  did  more  for  the  profession  of 
Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  than  has  been 
accomplished  by  any  other  individual.  One 
concrete  example  of  what  can  be  done,  such 
as  has  been  furnished  in  the  noblest  way  by 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  has,  besides  its 
immediate  results,  more  of  instructive  value 


*  Revised  from  an  editorial  in  the  Long  Island  Medical 
Journal,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1914,  viii,  pp.  186-188. 


in  the  modern  way  of  things  than  has  any 
amount  of  preaching  and  criticism. 

His  Birth,  Boyhood,  and  Early  Life. 

Dr.  George  McNaughton  came  of  Scotch 
ancestry.  He  was  born  at  Mumford,  Monroe 
County,  N.  Y.,  on  July  4,  1856,  and  always 
felt  the  incumbency  of  such  an  important 
natal  day.  His  youth  was  thus  passed  in  the 
rich  Genesee  Valley,  with  Lake  Ontario  almost 
in  sight,  and  the  nearby  city  of  Eochester  as 
a  head-center. 

His  preliminary  education  was  obtained 
in  the  preparatory  schools  of  his  native  vil- 
lage and  the  adjacent  town  of  Caledonia,  and 
by  private  tutor.  It  was  in  a  region  so  largely 
dominated  by  Scotians  that  it  might  have 
been  termed  New  Scotland.  Most  opportune 
for  him  at  this  time  was  the  epoch-making 
experimental  work  of  Seth  Green  in  fish- 
culture.  No  school  laboratory  ever  supplied 
such  intellectual  pabulum  to  oncoming  youth. 
The  beautiful  creek  arising  from  nearby 
springs  was  but  a  short  step  away,  and  his 
youthful  interest  in  the  work,  the  attendants, 
and  the  development  of  the  now  universally 
applied   methods    of   pisciculture,    persisted 


10 


through  life — ^matters  often  referred  to  later 
in  his  career  in  elucidating  biologic  problems. 
There  was  also  an  occasional  chance  to  prac- 
tice the  art  of  Izaac  Walton,  or  stealthily  to 
try  the  virtues  of  a  fly-cast  "in  the  cool  grey 
dawn,"  of  course  more  fully  to  study  the 
matutinal  life  of  the  trout. 

This  heredity  and  this  environment  give  a 
clue  to  the  early  sources  of  his  strong  person- 
ality. Definiteness  and  persistence  of  pur- 
pose in  life  beyond  mere  gain  are  generally 
accredited  to  the  finer  human  attributes.  "It 
is  not  time  that  teaches  wisdom,  but  nature  and 
early  training,"  saith  the  classic;  and  this  is 
quite  as  true  in  the  modern  as  in  the  ancient 
sense. 

As  one  of  a  large  family  he  perforce  learned 
early  to  have  regard  for  the  needs,  comfort 
and  feelings  of  others — one  of  his  strongest 
and  most  endearing  characteristics — and  also 
a  large  degree  of  self-reliance  which  came 
from  having,  Avithin  limits,  "to  shift  for  him- 
self." He  is  well  remembered  as  a  "curly 
headed"  youth,  "a  dashing  young  man,"  "a 
popular  young  fellow  around  town,"  by  a  col- 
league who  saw  him  in  those  days. 


11 


As  a  Medical  Student. 

It  was  as  early  as  1873  that  he  committed 
his  future  to  the  medical  life.  According  to 
the  good  old  custom  that  still  prevailed  in  the 
days  of  his  novitiate,  he  began  medical  studies 
with  a  preceptor,  Dr.  R.  J.  Menzie,  of  Cale- 
donia, N.  Y.,  a  man  still  active.  This  quasi- 
apprenticeship  involved  the  simpler  com- 
pounding of  remedies,  riding  about  the  region 
with  the  doctor,  assisting  at  operations,  and 
by  degrees  the  taking  of  personal  charge  until 
the  doctor's  arrival  or  even  attending  entirely 
in  some  of  the  more  onerous  and  distant 
cases.  His  description  of  the  formalities  and 
amenities  of  remote  consultations  (which  he, 
as  a  kind  of  professional  annex,  was  permit- 
ted to  associate  in)  had  the  touch  of  life  in 
another  sphere.  All  this  gave  him  a  kindly 
understanding  of  what  is  sometimes  termed 
''a  physician  of  the  old  school." 

He  then  changed  to  the  more  modern  sys- 
tem of  training,  came  to  New  York,  became  a 
student  of  the  late  Dr.  James  R.  Wood,  and 
in  1875  entered  on  his  medical  course  at  Bel- 
levue  Hospital  Medical  College.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  college  years  he  passed 
through  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  but 


12 


recovered  sufficiently  to  finish  with  his  class. 
From  our  knowledge  of  recent  years  regard- 
ing the  arterial  changes  set  up  by  the  general 
toxemia  of  that  fever,  it  is  likely  that  the  con- 
dition from  which  he  suffered  for  several 
years  and  to  which  he  finally  succumbed  dated 
back  to  that  infection.  Such  practical  study 
of  disease  by  personal  experience  has  not  even 
yet  received  recognition  in  the  curriculum  I 
He  was  graduated  from  Bellevue  in  the 
spring  of  1878. 

His  interneship  was  taken  at  the  Jersey 
City  Hospital  (then  known  as  Charity  Hos- 
pital), 1878-1879.  It  thus  appears  that  he 
devoted  six  years  to  special  training  for  his 
calling,  representing  a  fuller  period  of  prepa- 
ration than  given  by  most  of  the  candidates 
of  that  time. 

Eis  First  ''Charge/' 

He  began  private  practice  at  LeRoy,  Gene- 
see, County,  N.  Y.,  not  far  from  his  early 
home,  and  remained  there  upwards  of  a  year. 
This  also  might  be  credited  to  his  receptive 
and  training  period;  at  least  it  furnished  a 
stock  of  experience  medical — anight  work  in 
the    country,    endemic    chyluria,    advantages 


13 


and  disadvantages  of  small  towns,  etc. — ^to 
contrast  witli  later  things. 

The  local  press  bade  him  this  regretful 
adieu:  *'We  are  sorry  to  learn  that  Dr.  Mc- 
Naughton  has  decided  to  leave  LeRoy  and 
locate  elsewhere — we  believe  not  far  from 
New  York.  This  will  be  a  loss  to  our  place, 
for  the  doctor  is  a  skillful  physician,  and  has 
greatly  endeared  himself  to  the  people  since 
coming  among  us." 

nis  Removal  to  Brooklyn  and  Places  of 
Residence  There. 

In  1880  he  came  to  Brooklyn  and  took  up 
the  practice  of  Dr.  James  Stewart  (who  died 
at  Arlington,  Vt.,  1891),  his  first  location 
being  at  20  Greene  Avenue.  It  was  at  this 
first  place  that  a  thoughtful  early  passer-by 
called  up  his  speaking  tube  just  to  inquire 
how  he  liked  the  practice  of  medicine  any- 
how, according  to  the  doctor's  own  story. 

From  this  time  on  his  interests  and  work 
were  centered  entirely  in  Brooklyn,  and  his 
successive  places  of  residence  were :  20  Greene 
Avenue  (1880-1883);  194  Greene  Avenue 
(1883-1885)  ;  216  Greene  Avenue  (1885-1890)  ; 
227  Greene  Avenue  (1890-1894)  ;  1  Cambridge 


14 


Place  (1894-1901)  ;  479  Clinton  Avenue  (May, 

1901-1914). 

His   First   Appointments. 

The  first  step  in  his  wider  career  was  as 
Assistant  and  then  Attending  Physician 
(1881-1885)  at  the  old  Brooklyn  Central  Dis- 
pensary, around  which  o'er-modest  institu- 
tion for  years  gathered  much  of  the  medical 
interest  and  tradition  of  the  town.  Here  he 
became  connected  with  a  group  of  men  with 
whom  he  ever  after  kept  the  closest  relations. 

He  was  an  Inspector  of  the  Department  of 
Health  (and  the  first  civil  service  appointee) 
of  the  old  City  of  Brooklyn  for  four  years  at 
the  time  when  Dr.  Rajrmond  was  developing 
the  Bureau  on  a  modern  basis.  His  quick 
adaptation  of  means  was  well  demonstrated 
by  his  prompt  preparation  for  this  examina- 
tion. At  that  time  the  various  schools  and 
tutors  for  preparing  for  civil  service  bouts 
had  not  come  into  vogue,  nor  was  there  time 
for  posting  up.  The  morning  of  the  examina- 
tion Dr.  McNaughton  went  to  a  good  plumber 
and  was  briefly  instructed  in  the  main  prin- 
ciples of  the  work.  It  was  just  this  little  touch 
that  gave  him  the  needed  rating  to  win. 


15 


His  Hospital  Work. 

He  was  in  charge  of  the  gynecological  clinic 
at  the  Long  Island  College  Dispensary  (now 
the  Polhemns  Memorial  Clinic)  from  1884  to 
1891.  Through  this  he  became  associated  with 
the  late  Dr.  Ernest  Palmer  and  Professor 
Alexander  J.  C.  Skene,  as  assistant  at  the 
Hospital  (1891),  and  retained  this  affiliation 
until  the  latter 's  death.  In  these  ways,  con- 
sidering also  that  Palmer  had  been  trained  by 
the  late  Dr.  John  Byrne,  he  was  afforded  the 
best  opportunity  for  a  thorough  grounding  in 
gynecological  work  and  abdominal  surgery. 
He  became  full  Visiting  Surgeon  to  that  de- 
partment of  the  Hosi3ital  in  1896,  and  since 
1906  he  was  Clinical  Professor  of  that  subject 
in  the  teaching  department  of  the  Long  Island 
College  Hospital. 

He  was  active  in  the  same  line  of  work  at 
the  Eastern  District  Hospital  for  some  twenty 
years;  the  first  fifteen  as  Attending  and  the 
last  five  as  Consulting  Gynecologist. 

At  the  creation,  early  in  1893,  of  the  mod- 
ern staff  at  the  Kings  Coimty  Hospital,  he 
organized  the  Grynecological  Division,  and  has 
since  been  one  of  the  visiting  staff,  and  of 


16 


Plate  3. 


DR.   GEORGE   McNAUGHTON 
About  the  time  of  his  graduation  in  medicine. 


late  years  Vice-President  of  the  Medical 
Board. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  original  board  of 
five  (with  Drs.  J.  Fuhs,  H.  B.  Delatour,  O.  P. 
Humpstone  and  C.  Eastmond)  that  arranged 
the  first  medical  staff  at  the  Jewish  Hospital ; 
and  from  its  opening,  in  December,  1906,  he 
was  a  member  of  its  Conference  Committee, 
and  Attending  Grynecologist.  In  1912  he  was 
advanced  to  Consultant  in  that  department. 
Together  with  Dr.  Fuhs  he  was  an  honor 
guest  at  a  ''complimentary  dinner"  given  to 
them  at  the  Unity  Club  by  the  hospital  trus- 
tees on  May  20,  1913. 

He  was  Consultant  at  the  Long  Island 
State  Hospital,  Flatbush,  from  the  year  1899 
on,  and  was  also  Consulting  Gynecologist  to 
the  Swedish  Hospital. 

His  Early  Work  in  Intubation. 

A  great  and  leading  work  was  his  introduc- 
tion of  intubation  of  the  larynx  to  Brooklyn. 
In  fact,  he  was  one  of  O'Dwyer's  main  sup- 
porters in  the  establishment  of  this  method 
as  a  widely  accepted  procedure  in  medical 
practice.  Most  of  that  work  here  was  done 
by  him,  and  often  at  great  personal  sacrifice 


17 


as  well  as  danger.  It  was  in  this  connection 
also  that  he  did  much  to  spread  the  method 
of  treating  diphtheria  by  calomel  fumigations, 
a  method  originated  by  Dr.  John  Corbin,  of 
Brooklyn.  All  this  became  past  history  upon 
the  advent  of  the  serum  treatment  of  diph- 
theria. 

To  the  present-day  specialist  it  may  seem 
strange  that  any  one  with  gynecological 
aspirations  should  have  taken  up  laryngeal 
intubation,  but  up  to  that  time  pediatrics 
belonged  in  practice  with  diseases  of  women. 
In  that  way  any  common  disease  of  childhood 
fell  inevitably  to  the  gynecological  specialist 
when  it  became  necessary  to  call  additional 
aid. 

His   Medical   Society   Affiliations. 

He  was,  of  course,  a  member  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings, 
which  he  joined  in  Jul}^,  1880,  and  also  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
the  American  Medical  Association,  the  New 
York  Obstetrical  Society,  the  Brooklyn  Med- 
ical Association,  the  Brooklyn  Pathological 
Society,  the  Brooklyn  Medical  Club,  the  Har- 
vey Society,  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medi- 


18 


cine,  the  Caledonian  Hospital  Society,  the 
New  York  Physicians'  Mutual  Aid  Associa- 
tion, and  of  various  staff  and  alumni  organ- 
izations. He  was  a  charter  member  (April, 
1890)  of  the  Brooklyn  Gynecological  Society, 
its  Vice-President  (1893-1894)  and  President 
(1894-1895-1896)  ;  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Associated  Physicians  of  Long  Island,  con- 
tributing its  name  and  likewise  its  plan  of 
choosing  officers  by  a  method  now  conceded  to 
be  the  best  for  this  type  of  organization  (vide 
Science,  May  1914)  ;  and  also  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Medical  Library  Association  of 
Brooklyn. 

He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New  York  from  1892;  mem- 
ber (1898)  and  Chairman  (1899,  1900  and 
1901)  of  its  Conmiittee  on  Ethics,  and  came 
to  be  regarded  as  an  authority  in  that  trouble- 
some phase  of  our  medical  existence. 

The  work  done  by  Dr.  McNaughton  for  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings  was 
perhaps  his  monumental  civic  achievement. 
He  began  his  formal  career  as  a  Censor,  in 
1891;  and  it  is  Avorthy  of  note  that  in  those 
days  of  careless  officials  he  attended  eight  out 
of  a  possible  nine  meetings  of  the  Council. 


19 


When  leadership  became  urgent  in  that  organ- 
ization, many  felt  that  his  geniality  and  force- 
fulness  would  be  invaluable.  Defeated  at 
first,  his  friends  were  successful  the  follow- 
ing year  (1893)  in  electing  him  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  then  for  four  years  successively 
President  of  the  Society.  In  this  period  and 
the  ensuing  five  years  of  Trusteeship,  as  one 
of  the  Building  Committee  of  Five,  and  as 
one  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  his  untiring  ef- 
forts, devotion  and  good  judgment  guided  the 
Society  in  providing  the  medical  world  of 
Brooklyn  with  one  of  the  finest  homes  and 
headquarters  of  the  profession  anywhere.  He 
was  subsequently  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  (1902),  and  of  the  Society's  Commit- 
tee on  Directory  for  Nurses  from  1904  to  1908, 
inclusive. 

His  Aid  to   Young  Men. 

His  various  relations  to  hospital,  society 
and  teaching  work  brought  him  much  in  touch 
with  young  men  to  whom  for  many  years  he 
was  a  great  aid  in  their  starting  out  in  prac- 
tice, especially  in  securing  desirable  openings. 
It  seemed  to  be  a  perfectly  natural  thing  for 
the  young  graduate  in  his  uncertainty  to  turn 


20 


to  Mm  for  guidance.    And  so  far  as  strength 
permitted  he  continued  this  interest  to  the  end. 

His   Writings. 

He  was  not  fond  of  writing,  although 
admirably  clear  when  he  did  essay  any  sub- 
ject. A  peculiar  and  intesting  psychological 
observation  in  this  connection  may  be  worth 
recording:  while  he  was  left-handed  for  ordi- 
nary writing  and  for  familiar  things,  yet 
when  preparing  a  formal  paper  he  found  that 
his  mental  processes  were  far  freer  when  he 
penned  his  thoughts  with  his  right  hand. 

Some  Principles  of  Practice. 

Remedial  agents  or  operative  procedures 
occupy  most  of  our  attention  when  consider- 
ing treatment.  To  the  banes  and  handicaps 
of  this  phase  of  practice  may  be  reckoned  such 
things  as  therepeutic  nihilism,  belief  in  vaga- 
ries, mere  routine,  fads,  the  continual  shuf- 
fling of  views  and  agents.  In  contrast  with 
these  are  the  guiding  principles,  or  prejudices 
if  you  will  (though  not  to  be  confounded  with 
obstinacy  or  mere  pigheadedness),  which  in- 
dividual practitioners  have  to  work  out  or 
have  found  useful,  especially  in  times  when 


21 


some  steadying  post  is  needed.  We  uncon- 
sciously recognize  something  of  the  kind  in 
many  of  our  best  men,  but  rarely  learn  its 
exact  character.  A  basis  of  this  sort  contrib- 
utes greatly  to  the  accomplishment  of  results 
for  our  patients. 

Three  such  favorite  principles  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Naughton  in  practice  may  be  recalled  as  illus- 
trative of  his  methods. 

One  of  these  was  the  employment  of  a  single 
remedy  or  agent  at  a  time.  As  ludicrous  as 
pathetic  is  the  occasional  array  of  bottles  ex- 
hibited in  evidence  of  the  comprehensiveness 
of  previous  effort,  or  the  statement  that 
everything  in  the  pharmacopeia  has  been 
tried,  or,  again,  the  multi-charge  prescription. 
While  his  opposition  to  such  a  mode  of  treat- 
ment might  suggest  an  homeopathic  tinge,  it 
really  meant  that  his  surgeon's  spirit  did  not 
incline  him  to  indulge  in  internal  excesses. 

A  second  strong  principle  with  him  was 
illustrated  not  simply  by  what  is  termed  a  gen- 
eral grasp  of  situations,  but  more  by  the  abil- 
ity to  evaluate  the  overlooked  and  underesti- 
mated phases.  To  "seek  a  sign,"  some  single 
clear  point  all-suf&cient  for  guidance,  has  been 
a  natural  tendency  of  the  hiunan  since  the 


22 


race  began.  And  the  same  thing  is  seen  in  the 
medical  quest  for  the  so-called  pathognomonic 
symptom.  How  elusive,  in  most  morbid 
states,  has  this  search  proven !  For,  as  a  rule, 
no  such  exclusive  aid  is  to  be  found.  The  man 
who,  like  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  so  bal- 
ances up  all  the  facts  as  to  read  out  their  true 
import,  is  often  able  to  reach  sound  conclu- 
sions even  when  dealing  with  troubles  outside 
of  his  special  field.  This  ability,  this  applied 
wisdom,  is  really  the  essence  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, with  as  yet  no  sure  way  of  attaining  it. 
In  medical  work  this  is  invaluable.  Its  posses- 
sion is  regarded  as  an  acquisition  of  maturity 
if  at  all.  With  him  it  was  an  early  trait,  gain- 
ing strength  with  years  and  experience. 

Another  point  was  his  application  of  sys- 
tem to  the  management  of  the  individual  case. 
This  is  of  special  importance  in  serious  or 
prolonged  disorders.  In  such  cases  the  over- 
wrought friends  often  quite  lose  their  heads, 
and  the  patient's  chance  is  greatly  jeopard- 
ized. Then,  too,  lack  of  order  and  the  multi- 
plicity of  activities  in  modern  life  often 
constitute  a  large  etiologic  factor,  and  the 
securing  of  regularity  and  poise  becomes  a 
prerequisite   to   progress.     There   is   also   a 


23 


grievous  tendency  (and  not  all  outside  the 
profession)  to  teach  doubt  of  the  efficacy  of 
all  remedies.  Moreover  it  is  a  common  experi- 
ence that  we  get  better  results  in  households 
where  faith  in  the  realities  insures  more  care- 
ful following  of  trained  advice.  System  also 
infers  comprehensiveness,  and  with  the  Doc- 
tor it  included  a  due  regard  for  the  general 
relation  of  conditions.  All  these  things  bring 
to  the  physician  an  increasing  need  of  just 
such  aid  as  system  gives  in  carrying  out  treat- 
ment. It  means  that  vacillation,  doubt,  work- 
ing at  cross  purposes,  confusion,  lack  of  head, 
and  allied  hindrances  are  eliminated.  The 
good  nurse  is  one  important  agent  in  e:ffect- 
ing  this. 

System  alone  he  often  found  brought  about 
an  early  change  for  the  better.  This  method 
gave  him  a  material  advantage  in  practice, 
for  its  successful  carrying  out  depended 
largely  on  his  personal  control  of  the  sit- 
uation. 

His  Views  on  the  Retiring  Age. 

From  his  special  opportunities  for  observ- 
ing medical  and  general  relations,  he  was  a 
strong  advocate  of  the  principle  that  physi- 


24 


cians  should  retire  from  active  practice  by  the 
time  they  are  sixty  years  old,  or  as  soon  as 
practicable  thereafter.  They  should  plan 
their  lives,  if  possible,  to  be  able  to  do  so. 

Until  recently  there  was  a  chance  for  our 
seniors  in  practice  to  partially  retire  on  the 
basis  of  consultation  work.  This  gave  a  very 
satisfactory  outlook  for  those  with  an  expec- 
tancy of  long  life.  But  there  is  no  all-round 
consultant  any  more,  at  least  in  the  larger 
centers  of  medical  work.  Age  and  dignity  in 
the  consultant  are  no  longer  prerequisites, 
though  experience  still  has  a  lingering  claim. 
Technical  aid  on  particular  points  is  now 
more  largely  sought.  The  laboratory  man 
(bacteriologist,  pathologist,  biologist,  chem- 
ist) and  the  specialist  are  chiefly  called,  and 
here  the  younger  man  is  more  in  evidence. 

His  views  were  also  aimed  to  meet  the 
changing  and  increasingly  socialistic  tenden- 
cies of  present-day  practice.  While  no  longer 
as  true  as  a  generation  ago,  that  *'many  are 
called  but  few  are  chosen,"  the  increasing  de- 
mands for  service  without  due  recompense 
seems  to  be  forcing  a  rearrangement  of  our 
status. 

He  based  his  opinion,  as  to  the  retiring  age. 


25 


on  many  facts,  showing  its  advisability  both 
for  the  sake  of  the  patient  and  of  the  physi- 
cian. The  wear  of  medical  work  and  the 
known  high  morbidity  of  physicians  was  one 
reason  for  fixing  the  age  limit  a  little  under 
that  established  by  the  government  for  cer- 
tain of  its  employees. 

In  cases  where  it  would  not  otherwise  be 
possible  for  the  individual  to  do  this,  he 
argued  that  it  would  be  in  the  communal  inter- 
est to  pension  him.  Some  such  possibility  is 
foreshadowed  by  recent  discussions,  though 
as  yet  only  for  those  in  the  public  employ, 
among  whom  an  occasional  doctor  is  now  in 
the  favored  class. 

His  Mechanical   Talent. 

Surgery  is  as  yet  quite  as  much  an  art  as 
a  science,  and  in  surgical  practice  more  than 
in  other  departments  of  medicine  a  well- 
groomed  familiarity  with  mechanical  prin- 
ciples finds  ample  scope.  It  is  not  simply 
manual  dexterity  that  contributes  to  the  sur- 
geon's success,  nor  yet  technical  dynamics,  but 
good  mechanical  sense.  Whatever  one's  na- 
tive ability,  a  fancy  or  taste  therefor  naturally 
develops. 


2e 


Even  the  doctor's  medical  friends,  unless 
associated  closely  with  him  in  practice,  were 
rarely  cognizant  of  this  side  of  his  activities. 
His  contributions  in  this  field  consisted 
largely,  as  is  the  case  with  surgical  inventions 
generally,  in  the  application  of  known  instru- 
mental devices  or  mechanical  principles  to  the 
problems  and  difficulties  in  his  line  of  surgery. 

Dr.  McNaughton  had  early  opportimity  for 
training  in  applied  mechanics,  and  possessed 
a  very  practical  mechanical  turn.  This  con- 
tributed an  added  degree  of  skillfulness  to  his 
work  in  intubation.  It  was  shown  in  opera- 
tive methods  and  improvements.  Certain  of 
his  devices  in  this  line  may  be  mentioned  in 
illustration. 

It  was  well  evidenced  by  his  designing  of 
the  ambulance  coach.  This  was  entirely  orig- 
inal with  him,  but  he  did  not  consider  it 
ethical  either  to  obtain  a  patent  or  accept 
proffered  compensation  therefor.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  supplying  the  ordinary  invalid  with 
suitable  and  comfortable  transport,  cor- 
responding relatively  with  that  which  had  for 
some  time  been  afforded  the  poor  and  the 
casual.  It  has  since  been  followed  in  prin- 
ciple by  the   whole   system   of  private   am- 


27 


bulances,  and  has  become  a  necessity  in  every 
civilized  commnnity. 

His  simple  portable  steel-frame  or  table 
attachment  for  operating  in  the  Trendelen- 
burg position,  known  as  the  McNaughton 
frame  (see  page  76,  "BibliogTaphy,"  No.  11), 
was  designed  especially  to  facilitate  private 
or  emergency  work.  ''It  could  be  placed  upon 
any  table  and  executed  the  position  with  much 
ease.  In  the  days  when  house  operations  were 
more  popular  than  at  present,  this  apparatus 
was  much  in  use,  and  naturally  was  of  great 
value  to  the  surgeon. "  It  still  has  some  vogue, 
though  in  part  supplanted  by  the  extension  of 
hospital  at  the  expense  of  private  care. 

Another  of  ''the  many  evidences  of  his  me- 
chanical genius"  was  his  very  practical  adap- 
tation (sometimes  laconically  dubbed  a  beer 
pump)  for  the  purpose  of  emptying  cysts  and 
removing  fluid  from  the  abdominal  cavity  (a 
brief  description  of  this  is  given  on  page  49 
by  Dr.  Barber). 

He  was  also  the  originator  of  the  special 
long  tissue-forceps  (see  PI.  4,  Fig.  3)  for  work 
in  deep  cavities,  which  is  known  among  instru- 
ment makers  as  the  McNaughton  tissue 
forceps. 


28 


Plate  4. 


Fig.  1. — The  Invalid  Coach. 


3^1     ^ 


Fig.  2. — Operating  Frame   (Trendelenburg  Position). 


INSTRUMENTS,  ETC.,  DEVISED  BY  DR.  McNAUGHTON. 


Much  of  his  originality  in  his  special  field 
is  known  only  to  his  associates  and  aids.  His 
published  work  may  be  found  by  consulting 
the  appended  "Bibliography"  (see  pp.  75-78). 
A  few  other  items  are  collected  in  this  memoir. 
Some  attention  has  been  attracted  by  his  cases 
of  ovariitis  in  mumps,  by  his  early  recogni- 
tion of  floating  kidney,  by  his  large  experience 
in  cases  of  ectopic  pregnancy  (at  one  time  he 
had  a  record  of  eighty  consecutive  cases  op- 
erated without  a  fatality),  and  especially  by 
his  entirely  original  observations  on  the  asso- 
ciation of  uterine  fibroids  with  valvular  leaks 
and  anteflexions,  assigning  a  large  etiologie 
role  here  to  local  circulatory  stasis  of  what- 
ever origin. 

His   Outings. 

In  his  vacations  he  pursued  an  interesting 
and  somewhat  novel  policy.  He  planned  these 
on  the  basis  that  to  the  physician  the  cost  of 
an  absence  is  not  so  much  the  outlay  directly 
involved  as  it  is  what  in  so  many  ways  is  suf- 
fered from  the  interference  with  practice. 
Consequently,  when  the  physician  does  go 
away  it  is  economy  for  him  to  get  all  possible 
out  of  the  journey.    A  little  added  expense,  if 


29 


thereby  the  trip  can  be  made  more  restful  or 
advantageous  is  in  the  end  an  economy.  This 
is  at  times  a  very  comforting  principle. 

In  his  business  relations  Dr.  McNaughton 
succeeded  better  than  is  expected  of  most  city 
physicians,  and  by  degrees  this  permitted  him 
to  take  greater  periods  of  relaxation.  To  his 
later  life,  as  sequels  rather  than  as  primary 
sources,  belong  his  longer  travel  trips:  the 
Great  Lakes  (1898);  Canada;  the  Yellow- 
stone (1902)  ;  the  Middle  South  (1898,  1912, 
1914);  Europe  (1901,  1906,  1912);  Egypt 
(1910),  Maine  and  many  nearer  points  as 
well  as  camping  tours  in  various  parts  of  the 
northern  wilderness.  Change,  and  a  degree  of 
rest  and  refreshment  were  gained,  but,  accord- 
ing to  the  outcome,  not  all  the  needed  re-crea- 
tion. 

He  was  never  married,  but  had  strong  fam- 
ily ties  to  which  he  was  as  thoroughly  devoted. 

He  was  a  member  of  various  clubs,  mostly 
of  the  outdoor  type;  the  old  Williamsburgh 
Athletic,  the  Crescent  Athletic,  the  Marine 
and  Field,  the  Triton  Fish  and  Game,  etc.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  Altair  Lodge,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  and  of  the  Masonic  Club,  and  for  a  time 
of  the  Brooklyn  Club. 


30 


His  Death. 

Dr.  McNaughton  died  at  his  home,  on  March 
17,  1914,  of  a  chronic  cardio-vascular  condi- 
tion. In  part  from  his  official  relations,  he 
acquired  the  habit  of  attending,  whenever 
possible,  the  funerals  of  deceased  colleagues; 
and  in  turn  there  were  present  at  his  own 
services  a  very  large  delegation  of  his  fellow 
members  and  associates.  He  was  buried  in 
the  family  plot  at  the  cemetery  in  Mum- 
f  6rd,  N.  Y. 

Of  generous  temperament;  intensely  Amer- 
ican in  his  democracy;  modern  in  his  fond- 
ness for  sports,  camping,  a  fine  horse,  or 
foreign  travel;  affiliating  with  many  of  the 
best  minds  in  the  community;  so  clear  a 
thinker  that  he  could  take  positive  ground; 
widely  trusted  as  an  adviser  in  multitudes  of 
matters;  an  invaluable  friend  and  a  telling 
opponent;  of  quick  wit  in  meeting  the  unex- 
pected ;  with  a  peculiar  maturity  of  judgment 
and  ability  to  detect  the  unseen  sides  of  a 
question; — he  is  deeply  missed  by  many,  and 
lamented  by  all  who  could  appreciate  his  high 
qualities. 


31 


His  Life  Work. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  accounts  of  his 
activities  that  George  McNaughton,  in  addi- 
tion to  being  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  the 
first  order,  was  a  fellow  practitioner  who  con- 
stantly abnegated  self  and  honestly  thought 
of  how  to  benefit  and  promote  his  chosen  pro- 
fession and  his  brother  practitioners.  His 
devotion  to  these  and  their  advancement  was 
general  and  evinced  in  many  and  varied  ways. 
The  construction  of  our  medical  temple  was 
but  the  acme  of  this  public  side  of  his  career. 
The  struggle  for  the  library  building,  often 
against  great  odds,  stamps  him  as  one  who 
was  ever  striving  for  civic  betterment.  ''Thir- 
teen-thirteen  Bedford  Avenue"  will  remain  a 
monument  to  his  high  purposes  and  cor- 
respondingly modest  simplicity. 

In  medicine  we  have  those  distinguished  as 
writers,  editors,  investigators,  educators,  na- 
tional organizers,  administrators,  historians, 
specialists,  etc.  Here  we  find  a  man  who 
discovered  a  new-old  field  and  devoted  him- 
self with  great  wisdom  and  success  to  the 
needs  of  the  field- worker  in  medicine.  Taking 
things  as  they  happened  to  be  where  he  found 
himself,  he  did  what  the  older  leaders  of  the 


32 


riate  5. 


DR.  McNAUGHTON'S  LAST  RESIDENCE 
479    Clinton    Avenue,    Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 


time,  after  proddingj  merely  suggested  might 
possibly  be  thought  of  a  generation  or  more 
later.  And  this  was  not  accidental  on  his  part 
but  duly  planned  and  pursued  with  a  devotion 
and  degree  of  personal  sacrifice  that  consti- 
tuted a  factor  in  the  shortening  of  his  life. 
Surely  such  a  man  should  have  recognition, 
at  least  from  those  whom  he  served. 

William  Browning,  M.D. 


33 


THE   McNAUGHTON   GENEALOGY. 

T  IS  curious  that  the  truths  that  we 
we  cannot  demonstrate  are  often 
the  most  actual  and  convincing  of 
facts.  Of  certain  laws  and  occur- 
rences (perhaps  coincidences)  of  Natiu'e  that 
seem  to  be  too  fanciful  to  be  accepted  as  facts, 
one  is  the  peculiar  interchange  of  charac- 
teristics between  man  and  his  inanimate  sur- 
roundings. Each  imparts  their  character- 
istics to  the  other;  a  home  expresses  the  per- 
sonality of  its  inmates ;  races  express  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  climate  and  scenery  in 
which  they  live. 

This  is  particularly  true  of  Scotland;  the 
delicate,  severe,  spiritual  character  of  its  veg- 
etation, its  mystical  mists,  its  faithful,  rugged 
mountains,  its  sudden  gleams  of  sunshine,  its 
hard,  unyielding  harvests — all  are  faithfully 
reproduced  in  the  characteristics  of  its  sons 
and  daughters;  they  are  as  faithful  and  as 
firm  as  Scotch  granite,  if  at  times  as  dour  and 
unyielding  as  a  lowering  Highland  sky.  The 
gallant  courage  that  has  put  fear  to  rout  on 
many  a  battle-field  and  knows  well  how  to 
fight  and  suffer,  but  has  never  learned  how 


35 


to  own  defeat  or  to  surrender,  was  bred  among 
rough  mountain  passes  where  there  was  little 
to  wring  from  the  soil  but  starvation,  and 
little  to  expect  from  a  foe  but  death. 

A  Scotchman  shared  his  plaid  and  his  salt 
with  a  friend,  and  in  more  luxurious  lands 
and  times  Scotchmen  are  still  spending  all  they 
have,  even  health  and  life,  if  a  friend  needs  it 
or  a  cause  requires  it. 

If  the  world  has  laughed  at  the  Scotch 
XDenuriousness,  it  has  also  laughed  with  glee 
over  the  Scotch  humor — the  most  delicate, 
keen  and  witty  in  the  world.  The  penurious- 
ness  was  forced  upon  them  by  a  land  poor  and 
hard  to  till  at  best,  and  frequently  laid  waste 
by  feud  and  battle;  the  humor  was  learned 
from  the  sudden  gleams  of  silvery  sunshine 
that  sweep  over  their  dark  landscapes  and 
make  their  world  all  glorious  with  purple  and 
gold. 

The  clan  from  which  Dr.  George  Mc- 
Naughton  inherited  his  name  was  one  of  the 
most  ancient  in  Scotland;  its  stronghold  was 
on  one  of  the  islands  of  Loch  Awe,  in  Argyle- 
shire,  the  fanciful  name  of  which  is  Fraoch 
Elan,  or  ''  The  Isle  of  Heather. "  This  ancient 
clan  of  Abair  Neachtain  rushed  to  many  a 


36 


w 

Ti 

•J 

sn 

m 

03 

< 

O 
o 

o 

M 

Z 

OJ" 

o 

i-i 

H 

2 

M 

cc 

O 

OJ 

P 

<^ 

Sh 

Z 

<i: 

o 

§ 

d~ 

OJ 

fa 

o 

H 

CO 

o 

03 

fa 

bloody  onset  and  foray  with  the  slogan  of 
''Fraoch  Elan."  They  were  ever  loyal  men 
to  the  reigning  prince  and  fought  with  Bruce 
at  the  battle  of  Dairy,  and  Sir  Alexander  Mc- 
Naughton  was  killed  fighting  for  King  James 
at  Flodden  Field. 

The  stern  difficulty  of  winning  a  livelihood 
at  home  drove  many  Scotchmen  to  be  bold 
adventurers,  wooing  Dame  Fortune  in  many 
lands.  America  offered  a  golden  opportunity 
to  win  fame  or  a  home,  and  among  the  many 
who  emigrated  to  this  country  was  Duncan 
McNaughton,  bringing  his  eleven-year-old  son, 
Peter.  They  prospered,  and  in  time  we  have 
the  record  that  Peter,  grown  to  manhood, 
married  Elizabeth  Jamison.  They  lived  in 
Galway,  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  where 
their  third  son,  Daniel,  was  born  in  1808 
(died  in  1879). 

Daniel  married  Margaret  Blue,  a  relative 
of  the  distinguished  Blue  family  of  North 
Carolina.  After  his  marriage  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Mumford,  near  Rochester,  Mon- 
roe County,  New  York.  They  had  ten  sons 
and  two  daughters.  The  subject  of  our  sketch, 
Dr.  George  McNaughton,  was  the  eleventh 
child.    Three  of  the  elder  sons  served  in  the 


37 


Union  Army  during  the  Civil  War,  and  all 
were  business  men  except  four — Greorge,  a 
physician;  Daniel  and  Stuart,  dentists,  and 
Malcolm,  a  graduate  engineer. 

Happy  is  one  privileged  to  see  the  beauty 
of  Scotland,  but  far  happier  he  who  can  count 
a  Scotchman  a  friend.  Knowing  Greorge  Mc- 
Naughton,  one  knew  a  man  possessing  the 
best  virtues  in  Scotland's  gift  to  her  sons — 
fidelity,  perseverance,  tenderness,  and  honesty 
that  tolerated  no  hypocrisy  or  sham,  but 
pierced  through  affectation  or  disguise  as 
skillfully  as  his  lancet  found  the  seat  of  dis- 
ease. 

His  was  a  sense  of  humor  that  was  the  sav- 
ing grace  of  many  a  situation  strained  to  the 
breaking  point  by  suffering,  anxiety  or  con- 
tention; an  indomitable  courage  and  tenacity 
of  purpose  that  counted  no  labor  or  effort  and 
admitted  no  possibility  of  ultimate  defeat; 
and  a  faith  and  devotion  to  the  right  as  he 
saw  it  that  made  his  life  an  inspiration  and 
his  death  a  triiunph  to  those  who  loved  him. 

Proud  is  the  country  that  can  breed  such  a 
posterity,  and  grateful  the  country  that  num- 
bers them  among  her  sons. 

James  MacFarlcme  Winfield,  M.D. 


38 


HIS   WOEK   AT    THE    COUNTY   MED- 
ICAL SOCIETY. 

ROBABLY  Dr.  McNaughton's  great- 
est achievement  was  the  building 
up  and  revivifying  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  County  of  Kings. 
When  he  was  elected  its  President,  in  1894, 
the  Society  was  drifting  along  in  a  passive 
and  half -alive  state;  the  medical  profession 
of  Kings  County  was  not  very  closely  united, 
and  was  in  sore  need  of  an  effective  leader. 
The  Society  had  continued  to  grow  gradually, 
simply  because  it  was  the  representative  med- 
ical organization  of  the  county.  The  library, 
which  had  been  started  many  years  previ- 
ously, was  suffering  from  lack  of  proper  room 
for  presenting,  storing,  and  handling  its  accu- 
mulating material. 

The  idea  of  making  Brooklyn  a  medical 
center,  with  one  of  the  greatest  medical  li- 
braries, had  been  considered  an  impossibility 
so  far  as  thought  of  at  all.  It  was  an  oppor- 
tunity and  he  realized  it.  There  was  need 
of  a  suitable  structure  for  housing  the  Society 


39 


in  its  varied  activities  and  its  library.  But 
how  was  it  to  be  obtained? 

It  may  be  profitable  to  recall  some  of  the 
points  in  Ms  plan  of  campaign,  not  all  pre- 
formed, but  as  evolved.  For  years  he  made 
a  close  and  continuous  study  of  methods  for 
promoting  both  the  general  professional  wel- 
fare and  the  immediate  cause  in  hand,  for  it 
soon  appeared  that  the  two  were  closely  allied 
and  that  a  prime  necessity  for  carrying  out 
the  purpose  of  construction  was  the  strength- 
ening of  the  local  profession  all  along  the 
line.  Consequently,  the  Society,  its  affilia- 
tions, work,  and  relaxation  were  the  subject 
of  a  careful  review. 

In  his  inaugural  address  (April,  1894)  he 
outlined  his  policy  and  immediately  set  to 
work  to  put  it  into  effect.  He  realized  that 
if  an  institution  or  government  is  to  pros- 
per it  must  have  a  solid  substratum,  a  support 
resting  upon  a  real  basis.  Consequently  his 
early  endeavor  was  to  attract  attention  to  the 
Medical  Society.  Men  of  prominence  were 
secured  to  read  papers  and  to  speak  at  other 
Society  functions.  Invitations  were  extended 
to  special  men  from  outside.  Selections  were 
made  of  speakers  with  ability  to  give  needed 


40 


Plate  7. 


OLD    BUILDING    OF    THE    MEDICAL    SOCIETY    OF    THE 

COUNTY   OF   KINGS 

356  Bridge  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


information  either  in  a  general,  an  educa- 
tional, or  a  constructive  sense;  and  above  all 
to  extend  the  relations  of  the  Kings  County 
profession.  This  all  was  without  thought  of 
theatrical  effect  or  of  personal  aggrandize- 
ment. Addresses,  papers,  guests,  dinners, 
celebrations,  etc.,  were  devised  or  tactfully 
turned  in  the  interest  of  the  one  great  aim. 
The  impress  was  speedily  felt  and  soon  the 
Medical  Society,  which  had  been  of  mediocre 
repute,  became  'known  throughout  adjacent 
states  and  counties;  in  fact,  the  outlook  for 
county  medical  societies  in  general  was  greatly 
advanced  by  his  achievement. 

Because  of  this  success  on  his  part,  out- 
siders, active  in  wider  lines,  have  occasionally 
shown  apprehension ;  medical,  like  other  poli- 
ticians, may  be  preplexed  by  disinterested  de- 
votion in  others,  especially  when  it  works  out 
well. 

In  addition  to  other  measures,  he  foinid  it 
necessary  after  becoming  President  to  initi- 
ate a  sort  of  civil  service.  The  official  side  of 
the  organization  had  to  be  both  awakened  and 
invigorated.  The  Council  of  the  Society,  its 
elective  officers,  were  affected  with  a  certain 
laxity.     A  sense  of  their  responsibility  and 


41 


of  the  need  for  their  active  co-operation  had 
to  be  developed.  The  attendance  at  Council 
meetings  had  been  so  desultory  as  to  make 
team  work  impossible.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this 
lack  of  effective  work,  the  habit  had  been  to 
return  to  office  the  same  Councilors  from  year 
to  year.  The  policy  of  objecting  to  the  re- 
election of  habitual  delinquents  was  suffici- 
ently endorsed  by  the  voting  members  to  have 
a  salutary  influence.  With  the  application 
of  this  civil  service  feature,  things  began  to 
improve,  and  the  good  effect  is  still  in  evi- 
dence. 

He  also  found  it  imperative  to  differentiate 
more  clearly  the  work  or  scope  of  the  two  rep- 
resentative bodies  of  the  Society,  the  Board 
of  Trustees  and  the  Council,  and  this  was 
perhaps  both  the  most  difficult  and  for  the 
main  purpose  the  most  important  service  ren- 
dered in  the  campaign.  It  was  the  entering 
wedge  successfully  introduced  by  his  inaug- 
ural address.  It  had  long  been  recognized  by 
Dr.  Maddren  that  there  was  a  natural  ten- 
dency for  the  Trustees,  as  the  more  contin- 
uous body,  to  usurp  the  functions  of  supreme 
government.  Mcl^aughton  clearly  pointed 
out  that  the  Trustees  were  the  financial  and 


42 


holding  body  of  the  organization,  and  that 
the  Council  was  the  governing  and  superior 
body.  When  the  plans  for  the  new  building 
were  sufficiently  under  way,  he  suggested  the 
advisability  of  making  the  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  also  Chairman  of  the  final 
building  conmiittee,  an  arrangement  which 
proved  in  all  respects  most  excellent. 

That  the  program  of  construction  in  which 
he  engaged  made  a  wide  communal  appeal, 
as  a  matter  of  public  quite  as  much  as  of 
merely  professional  importance,  was  shown  by 
the  Greco-Roman  Fair ;  though  organized  med- 
ically this  met  with  most  gratifying  patron- 
age from  all  sides. 

Tax   Exemption. 

When  the  Library  began  to  attain  size  it 
appeared  to  the  members  of  the  Society  that 
taxation  of  the  property  was  unjust  and  un- 
fair, since  the  Library  was  maintained  for 
educational  purposes  and  the  public  good. 
To  the  Society  it  was  almost  a  financial  neces- 
sity to  be  relieved  of  the  burden  of  taxation. 
While  McNaughton's  name  rarely  appears  in 
connection  with  the  long  e:fforts  to  accomplish 
this,  he  had  a  leading  part  in  planning  and 


43 


supporting  them,  kept  up  the  fight  despite 
discouragement,  attended  hearings  of  legis- 
lative committees,  etc.  Finally,  through  the 
aid  of  a  member  who  was  then  a  State  Sena- 
tor, a  general  law  was  passed  exempting  from 
taxation  such  medical  libraries  in  counties  of 
this  class  (Chapter  94,  Laws  of  1903).  He 
long  exercised  a  most  scrupulous  watchful- 
ness to  see  that  the  conditions  for  its  enforce- 
ment and  continuance  were  not  vitiated. 

His  Financial  Support  of  the  Society. 

Besides  his  success  in  inducing  others  to 
aid  the  cause,  his  own  financial  relation  to  the 
Society  was  typical  of  his  devotion  to  its  in- 
terests. 

When  the  late  Dr.  "William  Pepper,  who 
had  been  so  successful  in  promoting  medical 
affairs  in  Philadelphia,  was  present  in  Brook- 
lyn as  speaker  and  guest  at  the  Jenner  Memo- 
rial, he  was  gently  interrogated  as  to  avail- 
able methods  of  gathering  funds.  His  lead- 
ing point  was  that  he  who  would  gather  from 
others  must  himself  lead  the  way.  Any  such 
hint,  however,  merely  served  to  strengthen 
McNaughton  in  the  liberality  of  his  contribu- 
tions.   If  all  the  items  are  summed  up  (as 


44 


Plate  8. 


m 


NEW   BUILDING   OP   THE   MEDICAL    SOCIETY   OF   THE 
COUNTY   OF   KINGS 
1313  Bedford  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


repeated  contributor  to  the  Building  Fund, 
as  one  of  the  donors  of  the  Watson,  and  again 
of  the  German  Hospital  collections  of  books, 
in  dues  to  the  Society  and  to  the  auxiliary- 
Medical  Library  Association,  and  by  the  be- 
quest in  his  will) ,  it  appears  that  more  stands 
to  his  personal  credit  in  this  respect  than  to 
that  of  any  other  member,  so  far,  of  the  So- 
ciety. 

James  MacFarlane  Winfield,  M.D. 


45 


REMINISCENCES   OF   GEORGE 
McNAUGHTON. 


HEN  you  ask  for  a  few  words  to  add 
to  a  memorial  of  the  late  Dr. 
George  McNaughton,  what  can  I 
say?  What  is  there  left  to  say? 
To  extol  him  as  a  man  or  properly  to  place 
him  before  the  public,  ladjectives  are  poor 
material.  To  support  his  memory  as  a  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  with  its  deeds,  sacrifices, 
and  a  life  given  to  and  for  others,  the  pedestal 
can  not  have  too  deep  a  foundation. 

As  a  friend  and  colleague,  the  word  loyal 
but  feebly  expresses  what  he  was  to  those  who 
really  knew  him.  His  memory  lives  in  acts 
emanating  from  a  great,  generous  heart,  his 
sincere  interest  in  the  well-being  of  his 
friends,  and  his  ever-ready  willingness  to  add 
to  the  comfort  of  others. 

We,  who  chummed  with  him  most,  keenly 
miss  his  original  bursts  of  humor  and  ihis 
serious,  thoughtful  moments.  When  he  first 
told  of  his  ambulance  coach  we  ridiculed  him ; 
but  he  slowly  and  firmly  kept  pegging  away 


47 


at  the  idea  until  it  materialized  and  to  such 
purpose  that  the  world  knew  of  the  "Bennett 
Coach." 

His  Plan  for  a  Septic  Specialist. 

Ever  thinking  ahead,  he  would  bring  ideas 
to  the  fore  which,  if  even  partially  devel- 
oped, would  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  mankind. 
One  evening,  at  an  informal  gathering  of 
medical  friends,  he,  in  his  half-humorous, 
half -serious  fashion,  proposed  that  we  develop 
some  young  doctor  as  a  specialist  in  the  care 
of  septic  cases.  At  the  time  this  seemed  ab- 
surd, but  when  given  serious  thought  it  is  an 
idea,  for  those  of  us  doing  surgery,  that  de- 
serves more  than  a  casual  glance.  The  septic 
specialist  may  yet  be  a  division  in  the  great  cor- 
don of  medicine.  It  is  such  an  important  part 
of  the  work  in  the  surgical  field  that  none 
but  men  of  large  ability  could  possibly  think 
of  filling  it.  Could  such  a  field  of  surgery  be 
developed  it  would  mean  a  great  relief  to 
those  handling  clean  material  and  surgical 
work  in  general. 

Subsequently  he  referred  to  this  subject  at 
times,  but  this  was  only  one  of  his  manj^  novel 
schemes.    Throughout  his  surgical  life  he  was 


48 


constantly  contributing  to  the  safety  of  dan- 
gerous procedures  and  adding  to  the  expec- 
tancy of  life. 

In  his  career  as  a  gynecologist  he  conceived 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  surgeons  many 
valuable  additions  to  the  technic  of  surgical 
procedures.  Two  of  these,  in  addition  to 
those  mentioned  by  others,  were  his  operating 
frame  (see  page  28),  and  his  pump  for  use 
in  abdominal  work. 

His  Abdominal  Aspirator  Pump. 

Early  in  his  career,  when  associated  with 
the  late  Prof  Skene,  he  devised  a  means  of 
ridding  the  abdominal  cavity  of  pus  and 
superfluous  fluid  of  any  kind  while  operating. 
This  was  at  a  time  when  flushing  the  abdomi- 
nal cavity  was  in  vogue,  and  much  saline  or 
Thiersch  was  used  as  a  wash. 

This  contrivance,  while  working  on  the 
principle  of  an  aspirator,  was  much  more 
powerful,  the  vacuum  jar  being  exhausted  but 
once.  In  the  main  it  consisted  of  the  cus- 
tomary, but  large  and  very  strong,  flask  or 
bell- jar,  from  which  led  two  tubes  with  stop- 
cocks.    Attached  to  one  tube  was  an  extra- 


49 


sized  exhaust-pump,  made  of  metal  so  that 
breakage  was  out  of  the  question,  and  to  the 
other  tube  was  attached  a  finely  perforated 
cylindrical  strainer  to  be  introduced  into  the 
cavity  or  place  from  which  fluid  was  to  be 
withdrawn.  All  of  this  could  be  sterilized,  or 
as  much  of  it  as  necessary.  It  freed  any  pelvis 
promptly  of  secretions  and  did  no  harm,  as 
irritation  was  a  minor  quantity  in  its  opera- 
tion. As  it  was  so  very  simple  and  far  ahead 
of  an  aspirator  I  am  quite  unable  to  conceive 
how  it  dropped  into  disuse,  except  that  on 
account  of  a  change  in  operative  methods  it  is 
much  less  required. 

His  Introduction  to  Obstetrics. 

Our  friend  used  to  tell  an  amusing  story  of 
his  first  obstetrical  case;  and  it  so  well  illus- 
trates his  ready  thought  and  wit  that  I  ven- 
ture to  repeat  it  for  his  medical  friends. 

In  the  days  when  he  studied  medicine,  a 
preceptor  was  necessary  to  guide  the  coming 
M.D.,  and  Dr.  George  was  under  the  tutelage 
of  an  able  practitioner.  This  preceptor  fur- 
nished to  the  fledgling  much  of  the  practical 
knowledge  of  medicine,  while  the  college  sup- 
plied much  theory.     In  this  particular  in- 


50 


stance  Dr.  Menzie,  his  preceptor,  took  young 
George  in  his  buggy  and  on  the  way  to  the 
patient's  home  instructed  him  as  to  his  gen- 
eral behavior  and  the  care  of  the  case. 

The  patient  was  a  healthy  multipara  and 
quite  able  to  care  for  herself,  but  enjoyed  the 
presence  and  assurance  of  her  medical  ad- 
viser. Dr.  George  made  a  good  entrance,  got 
through  the  preliminaries  in  excellent  order, 
and  then  made  his  digital  examination.  After 
that  ordeal  was  over  he  assured  his  patient 
that  all  was  well — although  he  used  to  admit 
that  he  didn't  know  whether  he  felt  the  back- 
bone or  some  other  part  of  her  anatomy.  In 
due  time  the  lady  summoned  our  friend, 
who  had  made  himself  comfortable  in  another 
room.  The  second  part  of  his  functions  was 
performed  in  good  order,  after  which  he  pre- 
pared to  go ;  overcoat,  gloves  and  hat  on,  when 
the  patient  ventured  the  remark  that  he  had 
forgotten  something.  He  searched  his  pockets 
and  such  of  his  belongings  as  might  hide  any- 
thing, but  failed  to  note  anything  missing. 
Again  starting  for  the  door,  the  patient 
reminded  him  that  the  secundines  were  not 
removed.  With  quick  presence  of  mind,  he 
replied,  ''Well,   I'll  attend  to  them  if  you 


51 


think  it  necessary,  but  some  don't."  This 
rather  youthful  sally  slightly  illustrates  his 
ever-readiness,  whether  in  the  daily  routine 
of  his  burdened  life  or  in  the  emergency  when 
prompt  action  was  of  primary  importance. 

Calvin  Fremyre  Barber,  M.J). 


52 


A   PERSONAL   APPRECIATION. 

HE  death  of  Dr.  George  McNaughton 
has  created  such  a  vacancy  in  the 
medical  profession  and  his  loss  has 
so  keenly  been  felt  by  multitudes  of 
patients  as  well  as  friends  in  the  profession 
surviving  him  that  it  has  seemed  only  right 
and  fitting,  and  a  duty  impelled  by  our  sense 
of  loyalty  to  his  memory,  that  some  monument 
should  be  erected  to  him. 

To  the  writer,  personally,  he  stood  for  so 
much,  and  this  experience  has  been  duplicated 
so  many  times  with  others,  that  a  brief  recital 
of  the  qualities  displayed  in  such  an  associa- 
tion may  be,  with  advantage,  set  down  here. 

The  writer's  introduction  to  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  upon  his  first  visit  to  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of 
Kings,  held  in  the  old  building  located  on 
Bridge  Street.  Being  a  young  man  and  en- 
tirely unknown,  I  was  made  by  the  then  pre- 
siding officer,  Br.  McNaughton,  to  feel  entirely 
at  my  ease,  and  to  that  first  acquaintance, 
which  was  entirely  without  a  formal  introduc- 


53 


tion  (for  he  spoke  to  me  as  a  stranger  within 
his  gates  during  the  j)eriod  of  social  inter- 
course immediately  succeeding  the  scientific 
session),  the  writer  traces  all  his  subsequent 
interest  in  the  Society,  and  many  happy  hours 
of  professional  and  social  intercourse  as  .the 
acquaintance  ripened  into  such  friendship  as 
an  older  man  may  have  with  a  younger. 

Dr.  McNaughton's  social  qualities  were 
such  that  you  forgot  the  difference  in  your 
age  or  experience.  They  were  of  that  peculiar 
quality  which  made  you  feel  inmiediately 
^'Here  is  my  friend."  While  with  him  you 
never  felt  his  superiority  of  intellect  and  ex- 
perience which  you  would  acknowledge  while 
conm^iuning  with  yourself.  He  innnediately 
brought  you  up  to  his  level. 

Acquaintance  ripened  into  closer  relation- 
ship when,  in  1898,  he  offered  me  the  position 
of  assistant  in  his  department  at  the  Long 
Island  College  Hospital.  He  was  so  busy  that, 
in  order  that  he  might  talk  mth  me  about 
qualifications  and  what  importance  our  rela- 
tions would,  upon  the  appointment  being 
made,  then  assume,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to 
go  with  him  in  his  carriage  as  he  made  his 
round  of  calls  upon  his  patients.    This  imme- 


54 


diately  impressed  upon  me  his  eternal  fidelity 
to  Ms  chosen  calling,  and  his  end  was  hastened 
by  this  very  same  close  application  through- 
out the  years  to  the  interests  of  his  patients- 
He  never  refused  to  go,  and  the  sufferings  of 
the  poor  and  needy  became  his  personal  con- 
cern even  far  more  quickly  than  those  of  the 
wealthy. 

Alas,  it  is  sad  to  say  that  such  devotion  as 
many  of  us  have  known  to  be  his,  must  go 
unseen  and  unsung.  The  praises  of  states- 
men, of  legislators,  of  literateurs,  of  the 
clergy,  and  of  many  others  are  well  heralded, 
and  their  names  go  down  in  the  halls  of  fame, 
but  how  few  medical  men  receive  even  their 
rightful  due.  May  this  little  book  from  the 
circle  of  his  friends  be  his  enduring  monu- 
ment, and  may  those  who  were  not  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  enjoy  his  intimate  companionship 
see  in  its  pages  an  example  of  loyalty  as  only 
such  a  man  as  he  could  inspire. 

Albert  Martin  Judd,  M.D. 


55 


HIS  USE  OF  SEA-WATER  IN  INTER- 
NAL THERAPY. 

BOUT  the  year  1900  Dr.  McNaugli- 
ton  became  impressed  with  the  pos- 
sible value  of  sea-water  from  a 
medicinal  point  of  view,  and  made 
quite  a  study  of  it.  He  was  unable  to  find 
much  of  any  definite  data.  The  medical  liter- 
ature, as  I  remember  it,  had  no  information, 
and  the  government  at  Washington  in  its 
various  departments  was  able  to  supply  but 
little  more.  He  did  find  a  few  chemical  anal- 
yses, taken  by  different  people,  the  location 
of  the  point  at  which  the  sample  was  taken 
not  being  stated,  and  bacteriologically  he  was 
unable  to  find  any  information. 

As  I  remember  the  doctor's  scientific  argu- 
ment with  reference  to  this  water  it  was  some- 
what as  follows :  That  the  human  body  needed 
all  of  the  natural  salts;  that  our  ancestors 
were  generally  users  of  spring  and  well  water, 
while  the  modern  urbanite  is  supplied  with 
rain  or  surface  water  which  analyses  show 
contain  less  mineral  constituents.    These  nat- 


57 


ural  salts  also  were  secured  as  they  appeared 
in  foods,  but  in  the  modern  processes  of  man- 
ufacture many  natural  substances  are  elim- 
inated from  our  food  products,  as  evidenced, 
for  instance,  in  white  flour.  Furthermore, 
that  in  no  one  section  of  the  country  were  all 
the  salts  obtainable  and  therefore  it  was  quite 
likely  that  people  in  certain  sections  got  a 
surplus  of  certain  varieties  of  salts  and  lacked 
others  altogether.  That  sea-water  contained 
a  solution  of  all  the  salts  and  all  the  minerals, 
being  a  condensation  of  all  spring  waters 
through  millions  of  years  of  time.  That  in 
the  waters  of  the  sea  nature  had  combined  all 
elements,  and  this  combination  must  be  for 
some  useful  purpose,  as  so  often  proves  to  be 
true.  That  the  mineral  waters  now  so  gen- 
erally in  use  had  proven  their  usefulness  and 
in  a  reverse  way  had  demonstrated  that  if 
they  were  of  value,  containing,  as  they  did, 
but  a  few  of  the  salts,  that  sea-water,  con- 
taining them  all,  must  have  a  value  to  a  very 
much  greater  number  of  people,  as  any  in- 
dividual mineral  water  of  necessity  would  be 
of  service  only  to  those  who  lacked  its  par- 
ticular salts  in  their  food  or  system. 

He  made  quite  an  effort  to  get  analyses  from 


58 


the  different  oceans  in  hopes  of  finding  differ- 
ent combinations  of  salts  therein  contained, 
but  was  unable  to  get  anything  along  these 
lines. 

The  doctor  talked  this  over,  giving  the  ar- 
guments pro  and  con,  a  great  many  times, 
and  finally  asked  me,  about  the  year  1900* ;  if 
I  could  secure  for  him  a  sample  of  sea-water 
taken  far  enough  from  land  to  be  free  from 
contamination  by  the  run  off  of  the  Hudson 
River.  This  was  not  easy  to  do,  because  I  had 
no  knowledge  as  to  just  how  far  such  contam- 
ination might  extend  from  shore,  but  I  did 
secure  a  ten  gallon  flask  of  water  taken  from 
toward  the  end  of  flood  tide  five  miles  outside 
of  Rockaway  Beach.  The  doctor  inmiediately 
filled  a  small  bottle  with  this  water  and  took 
it  to  his  room  for  his  personal  use.  It  proved 
to  be  a  mild  cathartic,  but  in  the  course  of  a 
few  days  the  water  gave  off  a  very  strong, 
unpleasant  odor,  which,  upon  examination, 
proved  to  be  true  also  of  the  water  in  the 
flask.  This  was  somewhat  disconcerting  until 
he  remembered  that  casks  of  fresh  water  as 
used  at  sea  go  through  a  process  of  "sweet- 

*  The  recent  reports  of  foreign  enthusiasm  for  this  agent 
did  not  begin  to  appear  until  1904. — Ed. 


59 


ening,"  during  which  they  also  have  an  un- 
pleasant odor  and  taste. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  my  recollec- 
tion is  three  or  four  weeks,  the  water  in  both 
the  bottle  and  in  the  flask  ''sweetened."  In 
another  instance  the  period  of  "sweetening" 
took  four  or  five  months. 

All  the  members  of  the  family  were  invited 
to  partake  of  it  freely.  He  used  this  flask  in 
the  course  of  six  months  or  a  year  and  then 
asked  if  he  could  secure  a  little  larger  supply 
and,  as  I  remember,  on  three  di:fferent  occa- 
sions thereafter  I  secured  first  a  barrel,  then 
two  or  three  barrels,  and  later  fifteen  barrels, 
which  he  continued  to  use  personally  until  the 
day  of  his  death,  prescribed  for  his  patients, 
and  gave  to  his  friends. 

The  water  having  gone  through  this  pro- 
cess of  "sweeting"  was  very  pleasant  to  the 
taste,  and  was  certainly  very  pleasantly  effec- 
tive from  a  layman's  point  of  view  as  a  cathar- 
tic. As  I  remember  it,  the  doctor  had  a  strong 
opinion  that  this  water  would  be  of  value  to 
the  kidneys  and  liver  and  might  have  a  par- 
ticular value  for  elderly  people,  and  I  believe 
it  was  to  elderly  people  that  he  usually 
prescribed  it.     The  dose  he  suggested  to  me 


60 


was  a  wineglass  full  night  or  morning,  or  both. 
He  also  considered  its  use  with  drinking- 
water  and  may  have  so  used  it  in  certain  in- 
stances. 

He  was  also  greatly  impressed  with  the  pos- 
sibilities of  sea-water  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view  and  we  at  various  times  con- 
sidered the  advisability  of  organizing  a  com- 
pany for  its  general  distribution,  going  so  far 
as  to  consider  its  self -advertising  value,  par- 
ticularly throughout  the  inland  country,  and 
we  had  concluded  that  the  most  available 
place  for  its  collection  would  be  at  the  end  of 
the  Long  Island  Railroad,  at  Montauk  Point, 
where  it  would  be  possible  to  collect  with  a 
tank  steamer  the  water  fifty  miles  from  the 
mainland  and  many  miles  from  the  outlet  of 
any  big  river. 

Frederick  Loud  Cranford. 


61 


HIS  WORK  IN  INTUBATION  AND 
ABSCESS   OF   THE   THROAT. 

IR.  McNAUGHTON'S  activities  as  a 
practitioner  of  raedicine  led  to  the 
mastery  of  problems  encountered 
in  his  everyday  experience.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  pupils  of  O'Dwyer  when 
that  master  of  medicine  succeeded  in  robbing 
diphtheria  of  some  of  its  dreaded  effects  by 
the  perfection  both  of  his  tubes  for  intuba- 
tion of  the  larynx  and  of  the  technic  of  their 
introduction.  In  the  early  nineties  McNaugh- 
ton  did  more  of  this  exacting  and  poorly-com- 
pensated work  than  did  anyone  in  Brooklyn. 
It  was  in  the  performance  of  this  work  in 
intubation  that  he  met  with  many  cases  of 
obstruction  of  the  larynx  in  children  and  in 
adults  caused  by  other  infections  than  diph- 
theria. A  characteristic  grouping  of  symp- 
toms in  this  type  of  sore  throat  includes  the 
intense  pain  suffered  by  the  patient,  foUowed 
by  dyspnoea  dysphagia,  intercurrent  subsi- 
dence of  some  of  the  manifestations,  and  fre- 
quently by  death.     He  learned  to  recognize 


63 


this  condition  in  the  larynx  which,  if  intubated, 
did  badly,  but  which,  if  incised,  recovered. 
Many  a  case  of  edema  of  the  larynx  was  thus 
saved  by  his  skill  in  diagnosis,  where,  called 
to  do  an  intubation,  he  used  the  knife  and 
released  pus  instead. 

Especially  dangerous  here  is  the  retro- 
pharyngeal form  of  abscess.  It  was  from  an 
inflammation  of  this  kind  that  Washington 
died,  and  fatal  cases  are  even  now  not  at  all 
rare.  It  is  often  not  recognized  in  time  to 
prevent  fatal  sinking  of  the  infective  material 
into  the  mediastinum.  The  character  of  these 
cases  and  the  dangerous  route  the  pus  is  prone 
to  take,  he  verified  by  autopsy.  In  one  of 
the  cases  it  proved  fatal  in  less  than  forty- 
eight  hours. 

On  several  occasions,  in  trying  to  intubate 
these  cases,  an  abscess  cavity  was  opened, 
with  irmnediate  relief  of  the  symptoms  and  a 
surprisingly  early  cure  of  the  trouble.  This 
led  him  to  the  necessity  of  improvising  a  spe- 
cial instrument  for  opening  such  abscesses. 
This  consisted  of  a  shielded  bistoury,  curved 
similarly  to  the  instruments  devised  for  intu- 
bation (practically  the  same  in  design  as  the 
concealed  laryngeal  lance  of  Tobold).     The 


64 


blade  of  this  instrument  could  be  exposed  a 
quarter  of  an  inch.  The  utility  of  such  an 
instrument  he  repeatedly  proved. 

His  large  experience  in  intubating  brought 
him  an  unanticipated  large  office  practice  in 
various  throat  and  even  ear  conditions.  He 
was  greatly  surprised  one  day  to  receive  a 
call  from  a  man  who  traveled  from  a  city  in 
the  middle  west  to  consult  him  about  a  chronic 
ear  trouble  which  had  baffled  the  local  prac- 
titioners of  the  man's  own  city.  For  one  who 
was  aiming  his  work  toward  an  exclusively 
gynecological  practice,  this  occurrence  he  con- 
sidered as  somewhat  of  a  joke  upon  himself. 

Although  he  never  published  a  paper  on 
any  subject  connected  with  the  throat,  he 
often  surprised  those  who  wrote  such  papers 
by  his  firm  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
many  phases  of  the  subject,  and  he  constantly 
inculcated,  when  opportunity  offered,  both  in 
public  and  privately,  facts  and  observations 
derived  from  'his  almost  unique  experience 
during  the  early  years  of  intubation  at  the 
time  when,  before  the  discovery  of  antitoxin, 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  it  to  be  done. 

William  Coughlin  Braislin,  M.D. 


65 


HIS  TEEATMENT  OF  STERILITY. 

|F  LATE  years  Dr.  McNaughton  ac- 
quired a  wide  reputation  in  the 
cure  of  sterility.  This  attainment 
was  greatly  prized  by  certain  of  the 
less  numerous  races  with  us,  notably  Syrians 
and  Armenians,  and  to  an  extent  that  brought 
anxious  couples  all  the  way  from  Venezuela 
to  Canada,  and  from  intermediate  points  to 
profit  by  his  skill. 

His  reputation  in  this  line  was  with  the 
public  instead  of  with  the  profession  and 
dated  specially  from  an  accident  that  at  the 
time  was  very  disturbing.  This  happened  in 
a  case  where  the  sterility  was  due  to  ante- 
flexion of  the  cervix;  on  inserting  the  glass 
stem  to  remedy  this  condition,  the  eye  became 
broken,  and  it  was  only  after  splitting  the 
cervix  for  one  inch  that  the  remaining  piece 
was  extracted,  with  much  difficulty.  The  cer- 
vix was  then  sutured,  and  the  patient  made 
an  uneventful  recovery.  She  was  successfully 
delivered  about  year  later. 


67 


It  so  happened  that  an  Armenian  family 
occupied  the  floor  beneath  that  of  the  case 
just  mentioned,  and  that  the  wife  was  a  suf- 
ferer from  sterility.  She  came  under  the  doc- 
tor's  treatment  and  his  method  was  again  suc- 
cessful. These  people  were,  in  turn,  in  touch 
with  a  large  number  of  their  nationality,  and 
from  that  time  until  his  death,  he  was  con- 
stantly consulted  by  these  people  for  the 
treatment  of  this  condition,  many  even  com- 
ing from  foreign  countries. 

In  connection  with  the  occurrence  of  steril- 
ity among  the  Syrians  and  Armenians  he 
made  the  observation  of  the  relatively  high 
frequency  with  which  the  male  was  the  one 
to  whom  the  inability  was  due,  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  these  people  are  not  an 
immoral  race. 

He  does  not  appear  to  have  published  any- 
thing directly  on  this  subject,  but  that  he  had 
long  been  interested  in  it  is  shown  by  the  still 
extant  manuscript  of  an  article  thereon  which 
he  read  as  early  as  February,  1886.  *'The 
pathology  of  sterility  involving  as  it  does 
almost  every  morbid  condition  of  the  genera- 
tive organs,''  fairly  expresses  the  spirit  with 
which  he  approached  the  subject.    He  made 


68 


no  claims  to  unique  methods  of  treatment,  nor, 
of  course,  to  invariable  success,  but  depended 
on  the  relief  of  a  variety  of  gynecological  con- 
ditions, the  treatment  of  certain  general  states 
(such  as  tuberculosis  and  lues),  alkalinization 
of  the  tract  in  suitable  cases  (for  which  he  had 
special  five-grain  soda  tablets),  wise  marital 
advice,  and  withal  a  carefully  planned  system 
for  determining  who  and  what  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  previous  failure. 

Donald  Stuart  MacNaughton,  M.D. 


69 


EEMARKS   ON  THE   DEATH  OF 
GEOEGE  McNAUGHTON. 


Remarks  before  the  Medical   Society   of  the  County   of 
Kings,  March  17,  1914,  and  the  action  taken  by  the  Society. 


T  IS  sadly  fitting,  Mr.  President, 
that  in  this  place,  before  this  com- 
pany, and  from  this  rostrum  the 
first  formal  announcement  of  the 
death  of  Dr.  McNaughton  should  be  made, 
and  the  first  public  expression  of  our  grief. 
For,  on  this  platform  he  presided  longer,  per- 
haps, than  any  other  officer  of  a  prominent 
medical  body;  and  in  this  audience  are  very 
many  of  his  dear  friends  and  hearty  admirers, 
with  each  and  every  member  of  it  his  debtor ; 
for  this  building  is  his  monument.  It  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the  success  and 
the  adequate  housing  of  this  Society  was  the 
dearest  interest  of  his  life.  It  was  a  worthy 
ambition,  fairly  carried  to  completion.  No 
man  less  generous,  less  genial,  less  compelling 
could,  even  with  strong  backing,  have  gone  on 
against  all  discouragements  and  won — ^not 
from  wealthy  citizens,  as  in  other  cities,  but 


71 


from  an  underpaid  profession — the  means  to 
give  this  dignified  and  comely  home  to  our 
Society.  Who  forgets  the  smiling  wizardry 
with  which  he  did  it  ?  Who  has  known  a  man 
more  beloved  of  his  patients,  or  more  ready  to 
break  sleep  or  vacation — aye,  a  whole  vaca- 
tion— for  one  ill? 

If  a  true  man  radiates,  as  Holmes  says,  six 
feet  of  geniality,  here  was  one  who  radiated 
sixty.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  we  can  carry 
his  influence  forward,  in  sheer  kindliness  and 
devotion,  and  utter  courtesy. 

As  a  tribute  to  his  memory  I  move  a  vote, 
a  rising  vote,  of  appreciation  of  his  great 
service,  and  of  condolence  to  be  expressed  to 
his  family,     j^^^^,.^  2:^^02?  BicUnson,  M.D. 


A  unanimous  rising  vote  was  taken  as  a 
mark  of  appreciation  of  the  important  service 
which  Dr.  McNaughton  had  rendered  the 
Society  for  many  years,  and  the  Secretary 
was  directed  to  send  a  letter  of  condolence  to 
the  family. 

On  motion  it  was  unanimously  voted  that  the 
Council  and  members  of  the  Society  attend  the 
funeral  services  in  a  body. 


72 


DR.   GEORGE   McNAUGHTON. 


Remarks  at  the  Memorial  Meeting  for  Deceased  Members 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings,  held  May 
31,  1914.  

NE  who  has  labored  for  the  benefit 
of  this  Society  during  his  profes- 
sional life  in  this  city  has  departed. 
No  effort  was  too  great,  and  of  his 
time  he  gave  without  stint  or  hope  of  reward. 
He  was  President  of  this  Society  from  1894 
to  1897,  and  it  is  generally  admitted  that  this 
beautiful  building  which  we  now  occupy  is 
the  result  in  no  small  degree  of  his  personal 
efforts. 

These  meetings,  called  to  commemorate  the 
labors  of  our  former  associates,  were  first 
inaugurated  by  Dr.  McNaughton  as  President 
in  1895.  I  can  speak  the  more  feelingly,  as  it 
was  in  that  year  that  I  was  first  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Historical  Connnittee,  with 
which  I  have  continued  to  be  affiliated  ever 
since. 

His  name  will  ever  be  held  in  high  esteem 


73 


by  the  members  of  this  Society,  and  his  work 
will  be  an  incentive  for  the  younger  members 
of  our  profession  for  years  to  come. 

William  Schroeder,  Sr.,  M.D., 

Chairman  of  the  Historical  Committee. 


U 


BIBLIOGEAPHY  OF  GEOEGE  McNAUGHTON. 

1.  Paper :  "Intubation  of  the  Larynx."  N.  York  M.  J., 
1887,  xlv,  624-626.    Discussion,  ibid.,  pp.  640-642. 

2.  Discussion  of  Corbin's  calomel  sublimation  and  of 
intubation  in  the  treatment  of  laryngeal  diphtheria. 
Gaillard's  M.  J.,  1889,  xlviii,  64-67. 

3.  Paper:  "Eeport  of  a  Case  of  Primary  Cancer  of 
the  Pancreas."  BrooUyn  M.  J.,  1889,  Hi,  385-391.  (The 
first  case  on  record  where  this  diagnosis  was  correctly 
made  intra  vitam.) 

4.  Paper:  "Accidental  Separation  of  the  Symphysis 
Pubis  During  Labor."    Ibid.,  1890,  iv,  218-224. 

5.  Obituary  Committee  Eeport:  "Sidney  Allan  Fox, 
M.D."    Ibid.,  1891,  v,  590-592. 

6.  Case  Eeport:  JSTarration  and  discussion  of  ease  of 
extra-peritoneal  pregnancy.    Ibid.,  1892,  vi,  824-829. 

7.  Paper:  "Intubation  of  the  Larynx;"  and,  "Statistics 
of  the  Treatment  of  True  Croup  by  Tracheotomy,  by  Intu- 
bation, and  by  Calomel  Sublimation;  Compiled  by  Drs. 
George  McNaughton  and  William  Maddren."  Ibid.,  1893, 
vii,  461-486.  (Also  reprinted  and  published,  together  with 
a  paper  by  Dr.  Wm.  Maddren,  as  a  pamphlet.  IST.  Y., 
M.  J.  Eooney,  1892.     26,  5  pp.  8vo.) 

8.  Paper:  "A  Description  and  Photographs  of  a  Coach 
Designed  for  the  Eemoval  of  Invalids  (Construction  Sug- 
gested by  the  Writer)."    Ibid.,  555-560. 

9.  President's  Address,  April  17,  1894  (before  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings).  Published  as 
a  pamphlet,  with  recommendations  of  a  Committee.  6  pp. 
8  vo.  Editorial  notice,  BrooMyn  M.  J.,  1894,  viii,  495-496. 
Report  of  Committee  on  President's  Eecommendations, 
Ibid.,  501-503. 


75 


10.  Address  at  Complimentary  Dinner  to  Dr.  Andrew 
Otterson,  April  35,  1895.     Ibid.,  1895,  ix,  434-435. 

11.  Presentation  of  a  Portable  Trendelenburg  Attach- 
ment, with  Illustration.    Ihid.,  1895,  ix,  576-577. 

12.  Eeport  of  a  Few  Cases  of  Laryngeal  Diphtheria 
having  some  Bearing  on  the  Use  of  Antitoxin.  (In  dis- 
cussion (May  21,  1895)  of  a  paper  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Kort- 
right.)     Ihid.,  1896,  x,  95. 

13.  Address,  as  President  and  Toastmaster,  at  the  Med- 
ical Society  of  the  County  of  Kings'  celebration  of  the 
Jenner  Centennial,  May  14,  1896.     Ihid.,  455  et  seq. 

14.  Presentation  of  Specimen:  Ectopic  Gestation. 
Ibid.,  715-719. 

15.  Opening  Address  at  the  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings.  Ibid., 
1897,  xi,  436-439. 

16.  Paper:  "The  Clinical  Significance  of  Movable 
Kidney."     Ibid.,  1898,  xii,  65-72. 

17.  Editorial,  "George  McNaughton,  M.D.,"  Ibid.,  158. 

18.  Biographical  Sketch:  "Joseph  O'Dwyer,  M.D.," 
Ibid.,   399. 

19.  "The  Society's  Work."  Address  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  of  the  Medical  Soci- 
ety of  the  County  of  Kings,  Nov.  10,  1898.  Abstract: 
Ibid.,  1899,  xiii,  5-9.  (Full  MS.  deposited  in  the  Society's 
Library.) 

20.  Discussion  of  Dr.  W.  F.  Dudley's  paper  on  Laryn- 
geal Diphtheria.  Trans.  Assoc.  Phys.  of  Long  Island, 
1900,  i,  70-71. 

21.  Paper:  "A  Factor  in  the  Preparation  of  Patients 
for  Laparotomy."  (Chiefly  the  internal  use  of  ichthyol; 
his  method  of  using  this  in  the  form  of  suppositories  was 
never  published.)     Ibid.,  72-74  (Discussion,  75-78). 

22.  Presentation  of  specimen  of  Cystic  Kidney.  Brook- 
lyn M.  J.,  1899,  xiii,  109-110. 

23.  Presentation  of  specimen  of  Euptured  Tubal  Preg- 
nancy.   Ibid.,  185,  187. 


76 


24.  Presentation  of  specimen  of  Unruptured  Tubal 
Pregnancy.     Ihid.,  320-322. 

25.  Case  Eeport:    Caesarian  Section.    Ihid.,  510-511. 

26.  Presentation  of  specimen:  Appendicitis  during 
Pregnancy.     Ihid.,  646-648. 

27.  Discussion  of  Cases  of  Malignant  Adenoma  of  the 
Uterus.    Ihid.,  1900,  xiv,  46-47. 

28.  Biographical  note  and  portrait  of  G-eorge  McNaugh- 
ton,  M.D.,  Ihid.,  194. 

29.  Paper:     "Tubercular  Peritonitis."    Ih^d.,  834-843. 

30.  Presentation  of  Specimens:  (1)  Uterine  Fibroid 
(developing  Tyears  after  treatment  of  a  small  uterus  for 
antifluxion)  ;  (2)  Stenosed  Cecum;  (3)  Ectopic  Gestation 
complicated  with  Appendicitis.    Ihid.,  1901,  xv,  85-87. 

31.  Paper:  "Ectopic  Pregnancy:  Primary  Eupture 
the  Opportune  Time  for  Making  Diagnosis."  Alhany  M. 
Ann.,  1901,  xxii,  187-192. 

32.  Discussion  of  papers  on:  (1)  Cure  of  Complete 
Prolapsus  Uteri  by  Plastic  Surgery;  (2)  Causes  of  Dys- 
menorrhoea.  Am.  Gyn.  and  Obst.  J.,  N.  Y.,  1901,  xviii, 
146,  334. 

33.  Specimen  of  Kidney  with  Large  Calculus  and  Cal- 
careous Degeneration  in  Substance  of  Organ.  Ihid.,  1901, 
xix,  152.  Discussion  of  paper  on:  Treatment  of  Puer- 
peral Eclampsia.     Ihid.,  155. 

34.  Discussion  of  cases  of  (1)  Malignant  Disease  in 
Pregnant  Uterus,  and  (2)  Ectopic  Gestation.  Trans. 
Assoc.  Phys.  of  Long  Island,  Brooklyn,  1902,  Hi,  63-64. 

35.  Paper:  "A  Case  of  Partly  Formed  Lithopedion." 
Brooklyn  M.  J.,  1902,  xvi,  117. 

36.  Eeport  of  a  Case  of  Epithelioma  of  the  Cervix 
Uteri.     Panhysterectomy.     Ihid.,  492-495. 

37.  Eeport  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
Proc.  of  82.  Ann.  Meeting  of  the  Med.  8oc.  of  the  Co. 
of  Kings,  Jan.,  1903. 

38.  Paper:  "Epidemic  Parotitis  with  Metastasis  to  the 
Female  Genitalia ;  with  Eeport  of  a  Case."  Brooklyn  M.  J., 
1903,  xvii,  115-120  (Discussion,  142-143).  Also:  Pedi- 
atrics, N.  Y.,  1903,  XV,  263-273. 


77 


39.  Eeport  of  Case:  Miscarriage  Mistaken  for  Ectopic 
Gestation,  in  a  Woman  with  Double  Vagina.  Ibid.,  543- 
544. 

40.  Discussion  of  paper  on :  Dia^osis  of  Ectopic  Ges- 
tation.    Ibid.,  1904,  xvi,  453-454. 

41.  Paper:  "The  Home  or  the  Hospital?**  Trans. 
Assoc.  Phys.  of  Long  Island,  Brooklyn,  1904,  v,  15-28. 

42.  Paper :  'Ttemoval  of  the  Appendix  while  Operating 
for  Salpingitis."  Title  reported  and  discussion  in: 
BrooTclyn  M.  J.,  1905,  xix,  287-288. 

43.  Paper:  "Pus  in  the  Pelvis."  Ibid.,  1906,  xz,  1-3 
(Discussion,  33-37). 

44.  Discussion  on  the  Etiology  of  Fibroids.  Ibid.,  178- 
179.  (A  brief  summary  of  his  special  observations  on 
this  subject.  His  previous  discussions  thereon  are  reported 
in  the  same  journal,  1899,  xiii,  p.  189,  and  1901,  xv, 
p.  85.) 

Also  other  discussions,  reports,  casual  notes,  and  items. 
Because  of  his  non-writing  habit  some  of  his  best  work 
is  onlv  thus  reported,  if  at  all. 


78 


COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  library  rules  or  by  special  arrangement  with 
the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

I 

C2a(946)MIOO 

- 

R154.M23  B52 

A  biographic  memorial  of  George 
McNaughton,  M.D. 


^\5^.^^'3 


^S9. 


